Series Review: Hell on Wheels

 

Hell on Wheels is a highly fictionalized version of the building of the Transcontinental Railroad that ran on AMC from 2011 to 2016. Americans had long envisioned a railroad line from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This would go a long way in connecting the East and West coasts and speed up settlement out west. For years the construction of such a railroad was held up by sectional disputes. Predictably Southerners wanted to go south and Northerners vice versa. When the Civil War broke out the absence of Southern clout in Congress removed any obstacles to beginning the railroad. The undertaking was so daunting that the government felt it had to support the Union Pacific, going west from Omaha, and the Central Pacific, going east from San Francisco. The two railroad companies also took much longer than planned to start as they sought further financial backing. Construction was rough, with obstacles ranging from high mountains to deserts to hostile American Indians. The railroad was completed, but both companies soon went bankrupt for their troubles, and practiced unethical shortcuts as they raced each other. The title of the show comes from the name for the Union Pacific’s traveling town, Hell on Wheels.

History is dramatic enough, but the show understandably takes it to another level. Foremost there are a lot more shootouts and murders (the latter was not unheard of). Let’s just say that certain happenings in the show would have been legendary fixtures of American memory if they really happened. The cast of characters is also quite colorful. Most are fictional and they explore all the different perspectives of western life. There are Irish immigrants, pimps, hookers, Mormon settlers, preachers, scheming businessmen and politicians, black laborers, American Indians, Chinese immigrants, etc.

The main character is Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount). Cullen is a Confederate veteran who begins the show on a mission of revenge. A band of Union soldiers murdered his family while he was off to war. His search for the final killer leads him to the build site of the Union Pacific and he takes a job to help him in his agenda. As time passes he genuinely becomes interested in the railroad business and makes many new friends (while unfortunately losing many of them as well). Anson Mount turns in a good performance as a rugged gunslinger who takes well to business. While Cullen has his dark side, he does have some firm ethical standards which contrast with a lot of the other characters.

It would take a long time to list the other characters so I’ll try to go through them fairly quickly. Rapper Common plays Elam Ferguson, an ex-slave who starts off as a laborer, but proves his worth to become Cullen’s number two. Lily Bell (Dominique McElligott) is the wife of a surveyor. After a brutal Cheyenne attack that kills her husband, she too becomes another surprisingly important part of the railroad. Other characters include the Irish McGinnes brothers, who try to run businesses that cater to the railroad workers; prostitute Eva Toole, a former captive of Indians who turns out to have some useful skills other than lovemaking; and the journalist Louise Ellison. One trio focuses around the Cole family. Tom Noonan plays Reverend Nathanial Cole, a pastor with a dark past in Bleeding Kansas. His daughter Ruth (Kasha Kropinski) arrives unexpectedly and tries to help minister to the rough railroad workers. She goes from being out of her depth to the show’s moral center. Rounding out the earlier show’s fictional cast is Joseph Black Moon (Eddie Spears), a Cheyenne who converts to Christianity and helps out the Coles, but struggles with his identity.

Real "Dock" Durant

Meaney's "Doc" Durant

While fictional characters are given prominent placement in historical events, real figures do play a part as well, usually at the higher levels. The big one for the show is Thomas “Doc” Durant (who historically masterminded the Credit Mobilier debacle). Wonderfully portrayed by Colm Meaney, he is a bombastic, ambitious, and unscrupulous figure who even delivers a speech to the audience at the end of the first episode. He’s quite the character to watch. He will do things that are despicable, screwing over other characters to further his ambitions and financial goals. At the same time he’s so darn entertaining and he does have his positive attributes. The show does mess around with the history around the character. He talks about growing up on the streets as a penniless boy (possibly an Irish immigrant), while in real life Durant grew up in upper middle-class New England. Making him a rags-to-riches powerhouse serves the purpose of the show and underscores how determined he is to hold onto power after having worked so hard to acquire it.

Other historical figures include Collis Huntington, (the manager of the Central Pacific Railroad), General then President Ulysses S. Grant, and the Central Pacific engineer James Strobridge. One who has a major role in the last two seasons is John Campbell (Jake Weber) the first Governor of Wyoming. He represents how rapidly civilization and the US Government moves along with the railroad. He tries to restore law and order among the rough-and-tumble railroad men, with mixed results. Brigham Young (Gregg Henry) actually become a major figure as well. Brigham Young took over leadership of the Mormons after Joseph Smith’s murder. He’s a fun character to watch, though Mormons might take offense to the portrayal of a founding father as a schemer on par with Durant. One character that I was surprised to learn was real is Pawnee Killer. In the show he is Joseph Black Moon’s brother. As in real life he opposes the arrival of the railroad and even carries out his infamous derailment of a train. One character notable by his absence is Grenville Dodge. Dodge was a Union general with a thing for railroads and ran the day-to-day operations for the Union Pacific. Though he is arguably the most famous figure from this historical event, he is removed so Cullen can take a larger role in the action.

Finally there are the villains. They are mostly a collection of outlaws who pop up before getting blown away. A few of them are ex-Confederates, with season four introducing the memorably psychotic jokester Sidney Snow. Snow in particular serves as a dark counterpart to Cullen. While Cullen moves on from the war to pursue a career in railroads, Snow drifts about getting into violent situations, unable to separate from his battlefield mentality. Finally there is breakout character Thor Gunderson, called the Swede (though he keeps protesting that he is really Norwegian). Portrayed by Chris Heyerdahl, he starts the show as an unscrupulous head of security for Durant. After a fall from his position, he becomes something of a western Joker, habitually coming up with schemes to restore his power and gain revenge.

Fun fact: Gunderson’s annoyance about his Swede title has some actual historical basis. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars Sweden took advantage of Norway’s desperate financial state to take over and incorporate into their nation. Norway did not gain full independence until the start of the 20^th Century. The continual mix-up of Gunderson’s identity thus makes sense because in the 1860s the countries were unified under Sweden. At the same time Gunderson may be offended because he wants Norway to be its own proper country again.

Each season of the show has a different focus. Season one sees Cullen, Elam, and Lily Bell rise to become important players in the Union Pacific despite their backgrounds. Season two sees the Union Pacific try to get through hostile Sioux territory, while many characters struggle as their plans fail to turn out the way they wanted. Unfortunately several characters were killed off prematurely because of executive meddling. After season two AMC moved the show to Saturday evening, one of the worst slots. Apparently they wanted to quietly kill off the show while they promoted their favored Walking Dead. Surprisingly the show’s ratings actually did really good. It did eventually start to decline. The reason is that the showrunners, likely inspired by the likes of Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, went overboard in killing characters and crushing their hopes. While many of the more morally upright characters died or got put in miserable situations, the more unethical ones tended to do well, a few because they were actual historical characters with immunity from death.

Getting back from that tangent, season three sees Cullen take full control of on-the-ground operations, while Durant plots to regain his position. The next major objective for the Union Pacific is the town of Cheyenne. This season introduces the Mormons, who end up playing quite a large role for the rest of the series. In real life the Mormons, centered in Utah, worked for both railways by grading the routes. Brigham Young very much wanted a railroad through the West, as this would boost the Mormon economy and make it easier for converts to reach Salt Lake City. The finale of season three is perhaps the most surprising of the show.

Season four centers around Cheyenne. The Union Pacific is stalled trying to get through a mountain. John Campbell arrives and tensions flare up. Cullen is really put through the emotional wringer in this season. This is partly done to justify his decision to quit and then join the Central Pacific. This leads to season five, which bounces back between the Central and Union Pacific. The show plays with the timeline a little. At this point the Central Pacific was pretty much done with the seemingly impenetrable Sierra Mountains. The showrunners justifiably wanted to show how it managed to break through them. This season also focuses a lot on the Chinese workers, along with a few new characters. The Union Pacific drama is not as engaging in this season as much of it focuses around the a brothel (though Durant remains entertaining and engaging). I personally found the end of the season and the series as a whole satisfying, with the last scene showing the impact of a Transcontinental Railroad alongside a final speech from Doc Durant.

The Last Spike ceremony of the Transcontinental Railroad

Overall Hell on Wheels is a great watch, if not perfect. It covers numerous aspects of the Old West and the Transcontinental Railroad and its changes to history usually work out well. I actually don’t mind the inaccuracies. It is events and characters that get fictionalized, not the tech, clothing, and lifestyles. There is more fighting and shooting to spice things up, but the producers and writers do not over rely on this aspect. The real issue is the overreliance on character deaths, several premature. Additionally some of the romances feel rushed, a couple coming almost out of nowhere.

Again, this is a show worth watching. It is far from a docudrama but it does touch on a lot of historical aspects and can raise interest among viewers in them.

Rating: 7/10